BMW R80ST

This quirky sport-touring bike is the street version of the original R80G/S, and it’s one of the oddest, most limited, and therefore most desirable Airheads ever made.

Based off the same lightweight, single-sided swingarm monoshock chassis as its off-road sibling, the R80 G/S, the ST came with a slightly shorter-stroke rear shock, a shorter front end, and it inherited from the R65 the ugliest dash panel ever to come on any production motorcycle.

But it doesn’t matter. Purists love these bikes, and for good cause. They’re so nimble and well-balanced that most who own them hold onto them, and they’re also a popular candidate for being converted to an off-road-going G/S, which are only getting harder to find.

Fewer than 6,000 were ever made, and only 1,000 were imported to the United States. Three of them showed up to our #25yearsofBMW event on Union Street.

Owner: Dean Macabee: 1984 R80ST; Adam Paiva: 1983 R80ST (with optional factory fairing)